It’s been a hectic start to the 2024 Meiji Yasuda J1 League season. No team has a pair of wins from their first two - a first for the top flight since 2005 - giving the campaign an air of unpredictability and excitement already.
Let’s check out all the Matchweek 2 action:
Kashima Antlers 1,Cerezo Osaka 1
Léo Ceará gave Cerezo a lead, but Naomichi Ueda headed home late on to split the points and put Kashima top of the table.
FC Tokyo 1,Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1
Yuki Ohashi and Ryotaro Araki both found the back of the net to put each on three goals for the season in a draw.
Gamba Osaka 1,Albirex Niigata 0
Takashi Usami scored for the second week in a row as Gamba picked up their first win of the campaign.
Nagoya Grampus 0,FC Machida Zelvia 1
Shota Fujio gave Machida fans a day to remember, finding the back of the net to deliver Zelvia their first-ever top flight victory.
Vissel Kobe 1,Kashiwa Reysol 0
Kosuke Kinoshita scored the game’s lone goal, and Kenta Matsumoto made a big save late, as Reysol defeated the reigning champions in Kobe.
Yokohama F·Marinos 0,Avispa Fukuoka 1
Avispa’s defense was able to hold up in Yokohama, with Kazuya Konno scoring the winner in a big away win for the Wasps.
Sagan Tosu 4,Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 0
Marcelo Ryan scored early for Sagan before the home side poured it on in the second half — following a red card to Consadole — in what was a dominant win in Tosu.
Kawasaki Frontale 4,Júbilo Iwata 5
Ryo Germain was the star of the weekend as he scored an astounding four goals in a thrilling back-and-forth contest that Júbilo won in Kawasaki thanks to their magnificent striker and his stoppage-time tally.
Kyoto Sanga 1,Shonan Bellmare 2
Shonan's thrilling win in Kyoto was powered by #NextGenJLEAGUE talent as goals from Satoshi Tanaka (21 years old) and Akito Suzuki (20 years old) ensured all three points were headed back to Hiratsuka.
It looked like Yudai Kimura’s strike would be enough to earn Verdy a win, but yet again they lost the lead late, as Alexander Scholz converted from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to share the points in Saitama.
